Today in Hip-Hop History: T.I. Sentenced to a Year And A Day On Federal Weapons Charges 11 Years Ago

On this date in 2009, Clifford Harris Jr, who is better known to the Hip Hop world as “T.I.”, was handed down a slap on the wrist for federal weapons charges that easily could’ve landed him behind bars for decades.

Then, only 28 years old, T.I. was facing up decades in prison and the consequential end of his career for illegally possessing automatic machine guns and silencers as well as possession of firearms by a felon. The charges stemmed from T.I.’s October 13, 2007 arrest by federal agents after the rapper had a bodyguard buy machine guns and silencers for him.

Sentenced by a federal court in his hometown of Atlanta, prosecutors reduced his sentence considerably because of his outstanding community service, which exceeded what prosecutors expected. The “Whatever You Like” rapper spoke to tens of thousands of young people about the dangers of drugs and gangs, as he completed more than 1,000 hours of community service. He also paid a whopping $3 million bail after his initial arrest. He also had to pay $100K in fines as a part of his sentence. A little more than a year later, T.I. was sentenced to another 11 months for violation of probation after police found drugs in his car in L.A. during a routine traffic stop.

Some critics believe that T.I. became an informant for federal prosecutors, which landed him such a short stint for such a serious crime, but that theory is merely speculation.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: T.I. Sentenced to a Year And A Day On Federal Weapons Charges 11 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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